The number of cases involving a type of credit card fraud known as unexpected repeat billing has been increasing, the National Credit Card Center said.
Unexpected repeat billing is when a merchant charges a cardholder at random intervals, the center said.
Forty-four such transactions were reported in July, the highest monthly figure since September 2016, when 45 cases were reported, center data showed.
The number of cases reached 133 in the first seven months of this year, more than doubling from 65 from a year earlier, the center said, adding that potential losses for banks were estimated at NT$414,328.
“They are usually small amounts, but [they are charged] multiple times,” a local bank manager told the Taipei Times yesterday.
As the amounts are small and they are charged infrequently, most cardholders do not notice them immediately, said the manager, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
While it has become more difficult for merchants to commit such fraud as banks adopt more advanced technologies and stricter risk management measures, some merchants can still charge cardholders repeatedly by manually keying in their card number, the manager said.
Banks have strict policies on manual entry and mobile apps notify cardholders of each transaction, so “it is strange that this type of fraud is soaring this year, ” he said, adding that a new technique might be involved.
A Banking Bureau official urged cardholders to come forward if they have been targeted by fraud, saying that they do not need to pay the fraudulent charges, and that banks would notify and investigate merchants suspected of fraud.
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